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Neglected horses seized
Cashmere, WA (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Sep 6, 2011
County: Chelan

Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available

Alleged: Robert J. Stewart

Robert J. "Bob" Stewart, who's long tussled with Chelan County over his rural Cashmere property, faces charges of animal cruelty and unsafe confinement after five ailing horses were seized from his land.

Animal control officers removed two mares from Stewart's property Sept. 6 and returned Sept. 10 to take two more mares and a 4-month-old foal, according to court documents. They claimed in affidavits that at least one of them was malnourished and another suffered from an injured leg.

Stewart, 69, faces arraignment Oct. 10. In response, he filed a federal lawsuit Sept. 16, calling the seizure unlawful and enclosing the warrant documents served on him by Wenatchee Valley Animal Control.

"They're lying about everything," Stewart said by phone Thursday. "I got the records to prove they're lying."

Animal control agents told Chelan County Superior Court Judge Lesley Allan Sept. 9 they were concerned for the health of one brown mare, named Arley, among the horses known to be on Stewart's property in the 800 block of Mission Creek Road. Their request for a warrant called Arley "visibly emaciated (showing ribs, hips, and spine) compared to the four other horses."

Allan's warrant gave them authority to seize Arley as well as any other animal "that may be in danger or in need of veterinary care."

Stewart claimed the mare Arley was badly injured by animal control officers, knocked off its feet and scraping away bits of hide as it was dragged into a trailer.

"They claim they're concerned about animals," Stewart said. "What kind of concern is that when you dump an animal on its side trying to side-haul it?"

Wenatchee Valley Humane Society Executive Director Dawn Davies, who oversees local animal control efforts, denied that claim. She said animal control went to Stewart's home after anonymous reports of animal neglect and tried to encourage better care.

"We talked to the gentleman about taking better care of the horses, requested that he get veterinary care and give us proof of that, or we would have to take them," Davies said. "So he'd been warned several times, and finally we had to go to a judge."

Stewart's federal court filing indicates that animal control officers visited his property in April and August, photographing the corral where the horses were kept. He's also charged with allowing animals to roam at large, documented on July 17.

Davies said Arley was euthanized Wednesday after suffering organ failure due to malnutrition. The foal was born on Stewart's property in May, and Davies said its dam was unable to produce milk at the time the horses were removed.

The surviving four horses appear to be recovering in foster care, she said, although one had a sliced tendon and another may need lifelong pain medication for a prior hip injury that healed badly.

Stewart said the horses were brought to him by owners seeking to pasture their animals. As for Arley, Stewart said the mare was thin when it came to him, but had grown healthier under his care.

"I think she's put on 80 pounds since I got her," he said.

The other horses taken were named Cenerella, Star, Prince, and Dot&Dash, according to Stewart's federal paperwork.

Only those warrants and service papers filed with Stewart's federal suit were available for study Wednesday. Chelan County District Court would not provide the case files on the pending charges, saying they could not be opened to public view until Stewart is arraigned.

Stewart has fought with the county for more than 20 years over the status of his property, which has accumulated junked cars and appliances and drawn multiple court orders demanding cleanup. In return, he's peppered the county with hundreds of handwritten lawsuits, liens and recall petitions, claiming that his land is sovereign and courts have no jurisdiction.

His case was complicated when the U.S. government found that the land was actually federal property which his parents had wrongly been allowed to settle in the 1940s. The land title was amended and the property remained Stewart's, but he has long contended that he owns the public road running past it as well. In his federal papers he calls his property "The Common Law Jurisdiction" of "the Island of Stewart'sVille."

References

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